Mail catching and delivering apparatus.



- PATENTED JUNE 9, 1908. J. Q. ADAMS.

MAIL GATGHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

L E .1 APPLICATION F 1 ED D O 20 907 2 SHEETS SHEET attain ng/ No. 990,391. PATENTED JUNE 9, 1908.

J. Q. ADAMS.

MAII. GATGHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

N E D .2 I APPLIOATIO IIL D E0 0 1907 QS S rns NORRIS PETERS cm. WASHINGTON. u..c.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, OF WEST UNION, IOWA.

MAIL CATCHIN G AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed December 20, 1907.

Patented June 9, 1908. Serial No. 407,447.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at West Union, in the county of Fayette and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail Catching and Delivering Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mail-bag receiv ing and delivering apparatus, and has for an object to provide an apparatus of thischaracter whereby mail-bags may be taken from and delivered to a moving train without stopping the train.

A further object of this invention is to provide a receiving apparatus which may be placed at railway stations and which will receive mail-bags without damage to its contents.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description and it will be understood that changes in the specific structure shown and described may be made within the scope of the claim without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings forming a portion of this specification, and in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a sectional view of a railway mail car showing its delivering apparatus in position to be engaged by the receiving apparatus, Fig. 2 is a side elevational view Fig. 3 is a top plan view, Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the receiving and delivering apparatus located at mail receiving stations, Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the bag receiving device carried by the platform.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown a delivering and re ceiving apparatus 5 which is arranged within a railway mail car A, as shown. The car is provided at its sides with the usual doorways, and the delivering and receiving apparatus is arranged for movement at times outwardly of either doorway. The floor of the car is provided with a plurality of horizontally disposed rollers 6, and these rollers are thus ar ranged to support a platform 7, and this platform is thus arranged for movement transversely of the car. In order to guide the platform in its movement, I provide a plurality of vertically extending posts 9, two of which are preferably arranged at each side of the platform, and these posts are provided adjacent their lower ends with rollers 10, and

l I 1 l these rollers are thus arranged to engage the upper surface of the platform, as shown.

Each end of the platform is provided with a mail-bag holding means 1 1, and this means consists of a flat metallic bar 12 which is secured in a strap 13, and this bar is provided with an upwardly extending portion 14. The bar 12 at the lower end is provided with a metallic band 15, and this band is thus arranged to receive the lower end of amail-bag. The portion 14 is slightly inclined, and this portion is provided with a plurality of oppositely extending and upwardly inclined fingers 16, and thes fingers are pivoted at their inner ends to the portion 14 as shown at 17. Theiingers are thus arranged to assist the portion 14 in supporting the body of the mail-bag.

A catchin device is also located adjacent each bag ho ding means and will be hereinafter described.

It will thus be seen that the platform is arranged for movement outwardly of either side of the car. 7 may be held in an operative position, I pro vide each post with a spring pressed dog 18, and these dogs are arranged to engage rack bars 19 which are arranged at the sides of the platform, adjacent the outer ends thereof, as shown. The platform 7 is provided with an operating handle 20, whereby the platform may be conveniently extended outwardly of the car.

A delivering and receiving apparatus 21 is located adjacent the car A, and this receiving and delivering apparatus comprises a' plurality of upwardly converging posts 22, as shown, the posts are preferably arranged in pairs, and at the upper ends these posts are provided with metallic plates 24, and outwardly of the posts these plates are bent to form semi-circular portions 25. The portions 25 are thus arranged to receive an outwardly extending tubular bar 26 which is disposed at right angles to the CL]',&l1(l this bar is arranged with a portion extended outwardly of the outermost posts 22.

The portion of the tubular bar outwardly of the outermost posts is thus arranged to support two pairs of depending bars 27 and 28 respectively. The upper ends of these bars are twisted as shown at 29, and these twisted portions of the bars are looped around the bar 26, and these portions 29 are preferably riveted or bolted to the bars 27 and 28, as shown at 30. Itwill thus be seen that I11 order that the platform these bars are arranged for swinging movement. The bars 28 are somewhat shorter than the bars 27, and the bars 27 and 28 are connected above their lower ends by a horizontally extending bar 31.

The bars 27 at their lower ends are provided with a bag receiving apparatus 32, and this apparatus consists of sheets 33 and 34 respectively which are fluted as shown at 35. The sheets are arranged in spaced relation, and at each end these sheets are flared away from each other as shown at 36. Midway between the ends of each bar there are provided springs 37, and these springs are thus arranged to hold a mail-bag after the same has been received between the two arms.

The bars 28 are connected at their lower ends by a cross bar 38 and on either side of this cross bar there are provided two short pins 39, upon which a mail-bag may be conveniently supported.

The catching device carried by the plat form 7 consists of a vertically disposed member having flared side walls 40 and 41 respectively, and these walls are closed at one end by a curved portion 42. The receiving device is provided with transversely extending metallic stri s 43 and these strips are removably secure to the platform by means of bolts 44 or other similar fastening means.

Pivotally mounted between the walls 40 and 41 res ectively there is shown a bottom 45 space at its rear end from the platform and this bottom is arranged to lie with'its outer end against the bottom of the platform 7. It will thus be seen that a mail bag entering between the walls 40 and 41 will engage the bottom 45, and by means of its pivotal connection, this bottom will be elevated at its outer end as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5 and thus prevent displacement of the bag.

What is claimed is:

In combination with a mail receiving and delivering apparatus carried by a car, said delivering an receiving apparatus comprising a slidable frame, the frame having mailbag receiving and delivering apparatus at each of its ends and arranged to extend at times outwardly of the car and at times inwardly thereof, of a delivering apparatus located adjacent the car and comprising a plu rality of swings, said swings having means for co-engagement with the receiving and delivering apparatus carried by the car.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

Witnesses: CARL EvANs F. Y. WHITMORE. 

